


Lost Boys and Golden Girls

by EnidZsasz



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Based on a Tumblr Post, F/M, Reylo - Freeform, Smuggler Ben, Wish Fulfillment, littleststarfighter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-30
Packaged: 2019-10-02 09:38:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17261879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EnidZsasz/pseuds/EnidZsasz
Summary: (Based on an AU idea from Littleststarfighter on Tumblr) Ben always had nightmares, after finally speaking to them about Luke one tense night he dealt better with them, finding out they were not from his mind and from another. This allows him to resist the insane call to the darkness that lingered in him. However, not long after that, the First Order attacked Luke's school, leaving a torn Jedi temple and few suvivors. Seeing the attack as his fault, Ben flees to the only person he knows that knows how to run from his problems instead of facing them. His father. Once healed, and with a prosthetic arm, they spend most of the time looking for things, like the lost Falcon. One day they actually hear a blip from it, on a junkyard planet known as Jakku.





	1. Chapter 1

Rey never thought she'd ever describe Jakku as THRIVING. But iconically enough it all seemed tied to Unkar Plutt, after a truly... unfortunate dealing with a criminal gang and its leader himself Kanjiklub came down to kill Unkar. Rey had the utter... fortune to be there at the moment and maybe it was her doings that seemed to create a thriving Niima outpost. Seeing the opportunity to blackmail a guy Rey had very few demands of him, even Unkar's death would create waves, not that he was even liked. But people didn't like their food supply ruined. Being established in his place was easy, people didn't think to much about it, particularly with the Klubbers lingering around due to the deal, she found herself at the center of people and finally, FINALLY able to do things that she always needed to do. Fixing the galacomincation array was the first, and once that was done, no one ever went to anyone else for food and money. 

That was because Rey, unlike everyone else had a small screen in various languages made up to post the rate of exchange based on the daily galactic market that anyone could look up she made things FAIR. Though it hurt her sometimes, it seemed like that little empathy people had was growing. In just a few weeks Niima went from just a outpost to a full on town. It was THRIVING, once established, the Klubbers left and what ever people felt about Unkar quickly was just forgotten. She spent most of her time in the mornings now doing the rounds of fixing things that needed it, getting paid for it, then sitting down and NOT cheating people. Quite a few didn't seem to enjoy that, thinking that she was indeed cheating them horribly. But as soon as that array was fixed, no one argued anymore. They could sell directly, or come to her for food. It seemed like having the CHOICE to work for money AND food improved the entire world. Within the short months of it several clans moved into Niima, creating homes quickly out of salvage and sandstone. 

Even the old man Tekka came with his outfit of quasi force believers and settled nearby, with the absolute thriving and bustling of Niima things were looking far better for everyone. Today at least she could spend it fixing up the light corelian freighter Unkar used to have that was now hers. It may be garbage, but after she got rid of all the idiotic things Unkar did to it, she'd have it up and running. She could get an underling to work in her place, MAYBE Tekka, he seemed trustworthy enough, and then go looking for... well... Rey sighed and primed the fuel pump in order to get the engines to fire up. This thing was so old that she doubted that this would be the time it would actually turn over and she could diagnose more problems. With a shudder the entire engine finally kicked over, lighting everything and waking what felt like ancient wiring and such it lit up the cockpit. 

Wiping her hands off on a thick apron she touched the controls with a smile on her lips. It lifted a little off the ground, but that was all she did. Settling it down she set the systems to self diagnose problems, update on modern starmaps. Several air and fuel lines were weak, but those were easily fixed as she spent time getting the garbage heap running. At least it was mind numbing work, getting the lines fixed took the days final work, and she had a job to do. People usually sold half their salvage to her for food, and the rest went to putting in for cash. It meant that she had little to work with, but as of late with the looming of the first order more people were stocking up on food just in case. It wasn't that much different then her usual days with Unkar alive, she still went hungry some days, but it was worth it to look out from her home in Niima and see more children happily playing in the lingering heat before it got to cold outside. 

That was worth any hunger she could feel, people actually happy instead of a desperate sort of numbness that pervaded her childhood years. Tekka could wait to talk to, she'd get to him soon enough. If there was one thing that she knew was most religious types weren't THAT trustworthy, but these types actually seemed to be among the few that never demanded money. Only time spent in contemplation, or worship, whatever. Tonight was a well off night, after a good amount of people selling to her for food, she could feed herself on the portions she had. Usually saved for people, she made damn sure that it was fair. That included sometimes starving. Tonight with a full stomach she curled herself in the alcove above where she had her shop now, and fell asleep. 

* * *

 

"I TOLD YOU TO CHECK THE OUTER REACHES!" Ben snapped towards his father. Han frowned at the tiny beep on his consoles. Ben was right, they were too focused on trying to find the Falcon out on the main courses, it would seem like anyone with a brain would stop. But Han was obstinate that someone HAD to have it in some kind of private collection. Who wouldn't? They followed the tiny beep, it growing as they finally shot of out hyperspace on a desert planet. Thankfully he could fume at his rightness in the large ship without coming into contact with much of anyone. This freighter was several times larger then the Falcon, and could fit the whole ship in ONE of its docking bays. They still had the signal there confirming that the Falcon was on the planet. 

"Jakku? Its on a JUNKYARD?" Han grimaced, preparing a smaller vessel for landing as Ben busied himself in ensure said vessel wouldn't explode in space. Everything his father liked was more then just old it was ancient. Newer vessels were sleek and while he enjoyed it, the sole reason he stayed along was the slim promise he could keep the Falcon once they got it. Having a ship to call his own, even the old decrepit Falcon was something to hold onto. He smirked as Chewie said something along the lines of 'of course its on a junkyard' even if it was mostly despair that the Falcon would be mostly dismantled. He could pretend it was his own righteousness of being right YET AGAIN and getting hardly any credit for it. It took longer then necessary his arm was starting to act up again. A few good punching into the inner hull make it start working again however and he simmered heading down to the wasteland below him. 

The trailing beep grew stronger the closer they got to a fairly bustling city for a desert wasteland planet. People stared up at them as they parked in what looked like a newly built hanger made from the large hull of a star destroyer. Crawling out from the ship got more then just a few stares, he pulled the thick tan canvas to cover his arm and face, while his father stepped up beside him holding onto the mobile tracker. "You were right, we should have checked the outer reach." He said lowly and patted his his shoulder. No more looks as they made their way out and into what looked like a repair yard, the Falcon was under a large tarp, he jogged up to it. Quickly into the ship to begin the accessing. Han and Chewie could find and deal with its current 'owner' if it even had that. 

"THAT SHIP IS MINE! GET BACK!" he heard a female voice snap. 

"Look kid I don't think you exactly know who I am." Han said, Ben frowned at the insides, it was just as much of a mess as he remembered from childhood. If not more so. Some more panels were exposed and settled down in order to get to the components and wires behind them. A jumble of replacements stood in neatly catagorized bins. All in all it actually looked like someone was at least trying to keep her in repair. 

"I know exactly who you are!" snapped the woman. "But by the legal right of salvage  **I** get this vessel!" he sighed and started down the ramp. "OFF MY SHIP!" he barely had time to duck and roll from a large staff aimed towards his head. The girl was slim, but holding onto a long staff that she now was pointing at him. "THIS SHIP IS MINE BY LEGAL RIGHT AND NONE OF YOU ARE JUST TAKING IT!" she yelled as he lumbered up. Han gave him a look, that he turned to Chewie with.

"Look kid, I'm HAN SOLO." Han tried, it only got her to move to stand in front of the open hatch only now lowering the staff. Ben frowned at her, she was at a clear disadvantage with two people who outweighed her, and a wookie. She was an idiot. 

"I don't care WHO you are smuggler! This ship is rightfully my by the LAW. You can't take it from me without PAYING me for it." she snapped. 

"This is the MILLENNIUM FALCON." Ben told her. She stood a bit taller protecting what she thought was her ship. "It belongs-" 

"If it was his he'd have it. Its been sitting out her unclaimed for over a year and it is MINE by right of the salvage code of the galatic Senate." she told him. Pulling out a small comincator she held up the holo of said code in front of their faces. "It is MINE. And no one, not even Luke Skywalker himself is going to take it from me. WITHOUT PAYING." 

"We're not-" 

"How much do you want?" Ben snapped before Han could finish anything. She smiled down and put the communicator away.  

"Four million credits." she said easily. The three gaped at her. 

"She's barely worth ONE!" Chewie argued. 

"You just said this was the FALCON. That means she's worth at least four." She replied and smirked folding her arms in front of her. Han put his hand in front of his face covering a smirk. "Come back when you have the credits." she said and shut herself into the ship, likely to biolock the ship to herself. Leaving the three down there in shock, something of awe, and in Ben's case more then just a little simmering rage. Her right? HER right to own the ship? He growled and dropped off as Chewie put a paw on his shoulder. 

"Lets ask around a bit, find out who our salvager is. See if she can be reasoned with." he said. 

"That's a good idea." Han replied, following the two he cast a glare back towards the ship. He could wait, biolocking wasn't THAT hard to pull out if she did it. Just would lock the ships controls, he could get a evac suit, completely shut down the ship into emergency mode and reboot the ship from the start. That would wipe out any locking she could muster up. Plan made he followed his father and Chewie out, and blinked as he saw Tekka opening up a small stand of some sort. 

"Tekka?" Han questioned and the hold man smiled, looking up to Ben. Last time he saw Sor Lan Tekka, he looked a hell of a lot less old. 

"Look at how old I've gotten!" he said and the four men shared more friendly greetings. "Ah, I've been asked to man this," he gestured to the shack. "For Rey, she's the owner." he flicked on a display, it displayed a lot of random numbers and languages until it settled for a long slowly scrolling list of various salvagable parts. It drew a crowd of people in the truly early morning and a few excited whispers, before most of them went off their their daily work. Tekka chuckled a bit, before settling himself in a set of seats he was setting out for them. 

"Who is the one who... owns the... well Falcon." Han asked him, Tekka blinked and looked off into the distance. 

"Ah, I never thought, so it was the Falcon." he shook his head and smiled. "That would be the same one who owns this. Rey." he said. Ben folded his arms in front of him. Irritated and waiting for the old man to continue. "She's a good girl, I don't doubt she'd be willing-" 

"She nearly took my head off with a staff!" Ben snapped. Tekka shook his head. 

"You went into the ship without asking didn't you?" Tekka replied, Ben closed his jaw with a snap. "One does not do that here, she must of have been scared you'd just take it. Its her only way she sees to find out where her parents are." whatever irritate Ben had dropped of into a sense of nausea. Of course, of course he'd be so stupid as to not even look into her intentions. He didn't dare to use the Force much, if he did, it sent messages out to Snoke and he could lead the creature to his family. If he had all his own ships, FAST ships he could explore ways to get out away from anything Snoke could send. Finally be able to use the Force in full without worrying about being manipulated, and THEN find Snoke and kill him. But he NEEDED to be alone, and needed to be able to get out and away from the influence as soon as possible once he was doing it. 

"Who are her parents?" Han asked and looked around. 

"None here, I've only heard rumors but..." Tekka frowned. "The one who had this before was Unkar Plutt, he... bought her. Some of the others here said that her family sold her." Tekka lowered his voice, shaking his head. "From what I've seen its true, we don't know where her family is. If they are still here." Said girl now finally decided to show herself, Ben looked away from her. 

"Tekka are you good to work?" she asked him ignoring everyone else. 

"Of course I am, Rey, these men-" 

"We've met." she glared towards them. "The offer still stands." Rey said and left quickly out. Tekka smiled after her then looked to the three. 

"Why don't you try to sweet talk her?" Han asked him.

"We should ask around to see what kind of ship her parents may have had, then we can trace them." Chewie said and stood up. 

"Yeah, we'll do that, see if it will help." Han said and winced as he stood and stretched. "I trust you can control your temper?" he smiled towards him, and Ben frowned and nodded. "Good, try not to make things worse." Ben sighed. 

"She'll listen, trust me." Tekka told him, and had to man the hut as a few people began to come in to trade in. Mostly for food he could see, but others submitted things into some kind of large bin and were actually being PAID. Ben shuffled out and away towards the Falcon, finding it locked down. She wasn't there, he carefully and very slowly reached out, with as minimum force necessary to locate her. Finding her wasn't easy, but he brushed up against her and drew back before heading towards her. She was busy smiling at some kind of clan with blue tattoo markings on them. Rey hopped onto the roof of said persons home and went to work repairing some kind of array on top of the building. 

"I need bonding tape!" she called down, Ben looked down at a small container and grabbed the tape as she looked down with a frown. He tossed it up to her. "I'm not listening to you unless you have money." she called down, and used the tape somewhere he couldn't see. 

"Just why do you want the ship so badly?" he called back. 

"SPANNER!" she yelled down, he found the tool, and tossed it to her, catching the bonding tape and putting it back where he grabbed it. "Its my ship, so its not one your business. Do I got out and take YOUR ship?" she pointed vaguely up at the sky, he knew he couldn't pick out the ship, it was too far away to be spotted by eye. 

"No." he said simply. Frowning. Okay so they would have to at least find SOME cash, maybe once she got some cash, she'd lower the price. 

"HAND me up the welder!" she lowered herself down far enough for him to hand her the device. Lowering a set of glassed he didn't notice on her head he tried to make himself think of just how to get her to listen to him about getting HIS ship back. Done, she handed the welder back down, and hopped down calling to the lady as she did so. "Done, that should be a more permanent fix!" she told her. The woman hugged her. 

"Thank you Rey! I'll be sure to find payment!" Rey waved her hand. 

"Its nothing, don't bother." He moved to carry the large toolkit for her, but Rey was faster casting him a glare as she moved out and away from the home. She was heading straight for the Falcon. "Why are you following me?" she demanded him. 

"Look, we need this ship." he tried, trying to sound pathetic. She turned to him with a quirked brow. "FINE.  **I** personally need the ship. I don't want to be anymore indebted to my mother and father. He promised if we find the Falcon I can have it." he explained shortly. 

"Well its MY ship." she touched the side and the ramp lowered. He stayed still anger starting to simmer up. She vanished inside and only after a bit of rummaging around she was back staring down at him, staff hiked up on her shoulder frowning down at him. "You're still here? Not trying to get on MY ship?" she demanded. 

"Permission to come aboard?" he asked just barely avoiding his anger, she just glared down at him. "HOW BAD in condition IS she in?" he asked and started pacing. Count to ten, he told himself. Though that never actually worked. 

"Not as bad as you think. It was mostly what OTHERS did to her that caused problems. I've been working on the 'original' schematics to repair her." Rey explained he turned to her with a frown. "Nice arm." he pulled his cloak tighter around him with a grimace. 

"The ship is mine by birthright." he mumbled. 

"Oh sure, and I'm sure the law MIGHT agree with you, but until then its MINE by right of salvage Law." he hissed out a breath and pointed towards her with his good arm. 

"Why can't you just LISTEN?! I don't HAVE a million credits let alone FOUR. This ship is barely worth its WEIGHT in salvage!" he snapped towards her. She backed away, shutting the ramp of the Falcon as she backed away from him. 

"You're not a very nice person, so why would I even start to haggle?" she told him back. He only tried to touch her, but ended up with a stinging hand as she lept backwards slapping her staff with only its weight onto his hand. 

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" she yelled back. 

"I only wanted to-" he took a step towards her, and dogged a jab to the stomach. "STOP ATTACKING ME!" 

"YOU FIRST!" she yelled. Frustration took its toll, and he jumped towards her, she dodged around him, and he blinked once, until the staff cracked into his back. 

"BEN!" Han and Chewie yelled nearly in unison. He turned towards Rey, she was carefully backing away from him, at the ready for another attack. He had to get the staff away from her, and moved towards her. She backed away, and he found his foot hitting into a small hole, that he tripped over, she moved at the same time, shoving an end on the staff into his 'bad' shoulder, over balancing him and making him twist ungainly onto the ground. She didn't press the move, and he blinked up at her as she backed away. Frustration was now fleeing from his system. This girl could fight, she knew the terrain..."Ben stay calm!" Han yelled. His arm tightened its inner mechanics tightening up as he hissed, the feedback playing into pain. She looked to it then his face and sighed, straightening. 

"I can help with that." she said and sighed. Ben gaped towards her, another moment she was lowering the ramp of the Falcon, and waving him inside. He clutched at the arm with his good one, forcing it to not clamp into his chest as its 'failsafe' posture. "SIT!" she snapped and he did so with a glare at her. He doubted that there was little she could do about it. He had been putting off maintenance by a proper- After she put her hand onto it, she unlatched it from the base on shoulder and had it off easier then every technician he had visited it. It left him unbalanced as she settled the arm, now completely loose onto a table in front of him. 

"I... what? How did you..." he began and she looked up to him and smirked. 

"Most of these tend to stick at the lower lock, its sort of a fail safe built in to prevent it just from falling off in case if the power core fails on it." she explained. "They've always been finicky. Even in the newest models it looks like. A few people here have... prosthetics." she said, and shuffled around the smallish interior for the large toolkit form before. He watched in fascination, and something akin to a sickening curiosity, as she did a few things that made the outter metal shielding pop open into the inner components.  

"What... is wrong with it?" he asked her lowly. 

"Usually the main nerve wire. It tends to get overloaded, one BAD way to fix it," she pointed to the scuffs on the metal with a pair of thin wire pliers. "is to punch things. It makes things worse by making loose wires, and then the main nerve wire has to work harder to send coherent signals." he stared at her. She left again, this time for a small arm length box that was locked VERY well. "this will be expensive, nerve wires cost a lot." she told him and gave him a look. "But its not in THAT bad of shape all things considered. It wont NEED replacing, some of the small ones yes." he watched her as she worked, carefully and with all the care in the world. How was it that this girl from this Junkyard of of world know how to repair- "you make a lot of money in this sort of work here." she told him. 

"You... know what I'm thinking?" he asked back. She rolled her eyes, carefully putting the wires back, pulling out some charred looking wires to the side. 

"Its obvious. What do you think all of us here can't know anything? Think we all are utterly unschooled and ignorant?" she demanded. More frustration built up, but he jumped when she tapped the arm and it quickly oriented itself back into proper shape. "Your power cell is good, it will need to be charged in fourteen standard days." She picked it up, and quickly settled it onto the shoulder plate. With a wince as pain shoved its way into his mind, it connected back and then faded into nothing. No pain feedback anymore, and no general sense of alienation in fact. He flexed it, and wiggled his fingers as he looked at her. She locked that arm length box back up. 

"You... fixed it." he mumbled quietly. She sighed. "It feels much better." he told her, she smiled quickly, then just as quick frowned at him. 

"That will be forty seven credits." she told him. He gaped at her. "I don't charge for labor, get off MY ship." she waved at him as he stood, fumbling for his pockets. He had fifty on him and handed her the card. "This is too much." she didn't look at him. 

"We don't have that many credits you are asking for, I doubt anyone does that you can contact it for." he told her. She glared up at him. "Look, if we FIND your parents would you lower the price?" 

"I'll consider it. How... do you..." she growled. "Tekka told you." he nodded. "Of course, FINE." 

"Thank... thank you for fixing my arm." he said backing away from her. 

"No problem, next time don't punch the wall to fix it." she snapped towards him as he moved out and away to his father and Chewie who were waiting for him. He stared at his father. 

"She... fixed the... arm." he told him and Han blinked up into the ship. "Did you find anything out?" he asked. Han, motioned him away. 

"Look, Ben... we may need to keep it quiet...." Han told him. Ben frowned. "Her parents are dead... their ship exploded and... from what I heard of some drunk, their bodies were just thrown into a sand pit." 

"We shouldn't tell her that?" Ben asked back. 

"It may make her want the ship all the more." Chewie said. Ben grimaced. "Lets say that, they went off planet, and are somewhere in the sky. See if she'll explore with YOU." Chewie gestured to him. "To look for them." 

"You do need a co-pilot for the Falcon." Ben gaped at them both. 

"And you think SHE will-" he bit off any words running a hand through his hair. 

"She seems like a good kid, I mean she fixed the arm at least, did she ask for payment?" Han asked. 

"Forty seven credits." he said simply. The two blinked at him. "I know, the last tech said four thousand..." he moved his hand to the back of his neck. He watched as Rey cast a glance their way, exiting the ship, and closing it down with a glare towards them all. 

"Let me be the one to ask things, I can always talk my way out of everything!" Han said and smiled. 

"No, not really." Chewie replied as he moved towards where Rey was heading off too. Han turned back to Chewie. 

"I ALWAYS DO!" he snapped toward Chewie. Ben looked down with a shake of his head hunching his shoulders as he followed them to Rey. There was a sort of ache forming in his chest. It was a bad idea to just LIE about her parents like this, but it might just be what he needed to get this ship off the planet and into his hands. He'd be taking this unknown girl, into his own troubles, but then maybe it wouldn't be THAT much of a problem. Could she understand what those problems were? She could take him, that much was clear, he could USE her to ensure that he didn't just fall prey to the creeping thoughts in the back of his head. He shut off what little of the Force he still had with him. Those thoughts vanished with the distant feeling of anger and a very high amount of frustration. He smirked feeling successful, they'd have to leave as soon as possible. Snoke COULD track him, but it would be unlikely he'd get such a tight target like that. More of a general area in the galaxy. 


	2. Let me tell you something

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey discovers something about herself

Rey frowned as she watched the ship carrying Han Solo and Chewbacca out and away from Jakku. She didn't exactly know how she let the smuggler actually convince her to do this. Maybe it was the 'glitz' of meeting the famous man, or the slim promise he'd bring her the asked for credits. His friend, Ben, stood there watching him leave as she gave a long sigh and picked up some of his things. It seemed like for a guy so lost in thought, and working with someone who seemed to jump between several different ships, he had a LOT of things. She dragged them out to the Falcon only casting a glance back towards Ben once as he watched the small auxiliary ship vanish completely from human sight. Settling the bags into the ship off the to side she shut the Falcon up, just because it wasn't 'done' for those here to invade space, doesn't mean they wont snoop and steal. 

Once back he was now only gathering his things, her irritation at him growing with every moment watching him. "He'll be back." she snapped, shoving a heavy box towards him. He can carry the heavy things, even with the way he gaped at her in shock. "WHAT?!" she demanded towards him. He shook his head, as they got the last of his things, mostly just awkward to carry to the Falcon. 

"Its... nothing." Ben mumbled as she grimaced towards him. He just kept glancing towards her as she got the last of his frivolous things onto the ship and began to help him stow all these things into the ship. 

"What is your problem?" she asked him, he still kept gaping, he still kept looking to her, then to the objects she was stowing. Once she was done with one box, he'd glance at it, and just seem scared. It was annoying, she had gotten the sense he was much more organized then her. She preferred piles of what was needed near to where she wanted it, she took him for far far more organized. It was like she could see it in her mind just so, but then considering how... messy the Falcon was she didn't dwell on it to much. 

"Rey..." Ben mumbled as if trying to gain confindence. "Can you see what... can you see what I'm thinking?" Blinking at him she laughed, shaking her head. 

"I just think you're the type to like things really organized." she said easily and pulled out a long drawer in the captains bunk, sliding a sort of compartmentalized box into it. The compartment bunk looked like it was made for the drawer, which she rose an eyebrow over but grabbed another box. This one contained a lot of broken crystals of some sort. Each one only the size of a finger segment, and each one seemed to have a kind of 'hum' to them. Each one, a different 'hum' and each one a different color as well. From nearly translucent, to opaque. From palest yellows to a nearly black blue crystal. Ben kept glancing at her with furtive looks, almost like he was confused, and full of anxiety. It was starting to affect her with that, leaving her feeling more and more irritated at him as he put away his clothes in the long empty storage. 

The last crystal she was saving, mostly because it was a wonderful sort of green color and instead of a 'hum' very much had a sort of strange song to it. Not exactly unpleasant but it made her wince as she picked it up and looked it over it. There was one last place for the crystal, about the size of her thumb or so, she settled it down and shut the drawer. The little 'song' ended almost immediately cut out and she could feel more from Ben. 

"Rey... did... did..." he opened and closed his mouth as if searching for something to say, panic rising in him. 

"WHAT?!" Rey turned fully to him and he flinched. 

"What did that just do?" he asked in a rush, he took a step closer to her. Worry lined his features, she shook her head, trying to soothe the irtation in him away. She'd be spending more time with him after all. Having someone who could help her repair the Falcon fully, and without getting paid, was a bit of a blessing. Though at the moment it was nearing a curse. 

"I wouldn't take you for a guy to collect broken bits of shielding crystals." she slipped away from him to start on her more daily duties she took it on herself these days. Grabbing a smaller tool kit, and her staff Ben followed her running a nervous hand through his hair. 

"Just, just tell me what happened!" he yelled towards her as she pulled on the protective swathes of fabric to shield herself from the two suns. 

"It sang," she said, and that at least made him freeze. "Some of the shielding crystals did that when I found a cash of them once. Those were all usless however, I have plans to get a wall up and then a shield to prevent the worst of the sand... storms...." Ben started pacing inside the Falcon. Panic mounting in him. "WHAT?!" she demanded towards him. 

"I... need to confirm something." he told her. Rey set the toolkit down and stared at him in what she hoped he would see as confusion. "Do you have anything that you need to do?" He was nearly shaking, Rey shook her head. 

"Not in particular, I usually do rounds until it gets too hot looking for things to repair." she told him. He grimaced, tensing his whole body before taking a deep breath and letting it out. 

"Come sit by me." he didn't exactly ask. Rey pulled off her staff from her shoulder and settled it down before helping him clear floor space. Copying his sitting stance got her a very satisfying amount of something like panic. His ear tips were turning red despite the lack of blush on his cheeks or neck. "I need you to reach out-NOT!" he began and cut off just as she started to hold her hand out towards him. "With your hands..." he dropped off eyes going distant and staring fairly offensively at her chest. "Reach out with your feelings..." he said after a moment of silence. She quirked a brow at him, but he didn't seem to notice, again almost lost in his thoughts. "Trust me... please... just.. I need to know..." 

"Need to know WHAT Ben?" she snapped, shifting a bit to make herself a little more comfortable. 

"Please just try." he begged closing his eyes, he looked pained. Stretching a little, and cracking some joints Rey let out a long breath and took a steadying breath. Tekka called it meditation, he said it helped one to calm themselves. It seemed like a utter waste of time to her. Sitting down and basically sleeping or napping while you could be doing something productive. He said that some people feel things while doing it, some more so then others, and the few times she had tried in a effort to ease herself to sleep nothing came of it other then becoming slightly more relaxed. However, she reached out, almost like a mental out and felt that 'song' like from before with that crystal. 

A large tone struck into her nerves vibrating her entire body and throwing her out and away from it. She was in space in just a moment, but yet not in space. Rey found herself staring at what had to be Jakku, but this Jakku was like how everyone said the planet once was. A large and lush jungle world full of life. She was staring down at the planet, yet also running through the jungles and lush long grasslands. There were all sorts of life there, from the lowest tiniest mircrobes to fully sentient creatures with large eyes and lanky limbs. Rey watched with their eyes, and from out there as a sleek and strange ship approached the world. All people talked, or worshiped a form of the Travelers, of those that 'seeded' the galaxy with life. In the oldest of old tales and writings and pictures it held pictures of that kind of ship. It seemed to flicker in and out of existence, then it did something to Jakku. It was almost like, they took the life from the planet. 

What once was long flat plains of grasslands became the tough packed stone, what once were hot bubbling pools of deep water became the sinking pits of sand. Jungles became rolling oceans of sand, and what once were tall mountains carved from red stone by years of rainy weathering and trees became the plateaus she knew. Stuck mostly in time and now only chipped away by the often devastating sandstorms. Hardly anything lived from this, but it did, it changed and adapted after so much devastation. She watched as Jakku became 'thriving' in its own way again. People came, and settled, finding out what she had saw herself, remains of life, remains of what once was a achingly beautiful world. Then again, destruction came to Jakku. This time with the fall of the empire, with the hulking devastated ships falling into the sands and world. Millions if not over a billion lives all taken out just because they were on the loosing side. Despite the Empire, and how horrible it was, some of those there, left dying only wanted to run, to flee and survive. 

Something cold touched her then a sharp biting pain brought her back to herself. Ben had pinched her, pinched her HARD with his prosthetic arm. Her cheeks were uncomfortably warm and her first reaction was to brush her hand across her cheeks brushing warm tears away. Ben drew back and now seemed more calm, but at the same time tense. "what, what was that?" she hated the way her voice cracked out, shivering and nearly weak. He almost bit his lip, then shifted almost smiling towards her. 

"That was the Force." he explained lowly. She blinked at him, far to confused to feel anything at this moment. 

"The... thee... that... that's all real?" she stumbled up and back, she felt light and shaky. Like she had a feverish sort of energy coursing through her. Her stomach rumbled in hunger and she swallowed it down, now was not the time to eat or feel hungry. He stood slowly, as she continued to back herself out towards the exit of the ship. 

"Its real Rey... all of it." he tried to sooth. Rey pressed down the button and ran. Leaving him staring after her she assumed. She could feel his emotions, a mix of fear and relief. A very specific kind of relief with words that seemed to come up with his voice. 'maybe I can be free' it strangled out, almost making her more breathless then before. After she got out and further away from the ship the feelings shut off, like a knife cut through them. Now with her own mind, and what she knew was her own mind Rey stopped still. She was running, she didn't run, frustration built up in her, and she turned to the bustling Niima. Catching site of her shop. Tekka was already dealing with customers. This, whatever it was, was still burning through her like an unchecked and well fed fire. Burning into her nerves and body with unknown and almost squirming energy. She went to Tekka, he seemed to know these men, and he would have to answer her questions. 

* * *

 

One of the first things Ben did the moment Rey ran was to start tightening down on his shields. Either he was leaking or Rey was more adept then him in reading minds. Either way he had to shield himself, which was a bit difficult since there was a pervading relief going through his body. Maybe it was the crystal maybe it was him and his proximity, but Rey had a very powerful latent power. He wanted to run, he needed to run. He couldn't trust himself near her right? Shutting himself down further he took a step out from himself to go about this as well as he could manage. She was strong, he could still feel her power almost flowing around him from its awakening. Raw, untrained, and very much nearly stressful. But relief, relief was a key thing he still felt. He could be scared of her strength, he SHOULD be scared. With his connection to Snoke, and the creature still to this day trying to manipulate him he should be scared. He could taint her, or Snoke could sense her. He probably DID sense her, if he didn't he would soon, the rippling waves of the Force stretching out from her minor plucking. 

Now all he needed to do was train her, cultivate her, for what? Killing Snoke? He left a tight feeling in his chest. Freedom, he paced in the confines of the ship unsure as to what to do. He had another jedi, another strong potiental, more so then Lu...then Luke and the others. While Luke was strong, the others were not, they needed to be protected and trained. Luke was handling that to the best of his current ability. Ben scrambled around the ship, and found what Luke left him. A small segment of a map, not exactly ancient, but very much showing where Luke had gone with the survivors. One of the first planets the Jedi ever existed, a place where they would be protected, and despite Ben never wanting the map he had it. He had nearly destroyed it several times, it would be all too easily with his arm. But he delicately put it into the Falcon's systems, and found a calling number he could send a message to. 

"Luke... I..." he began, and felt a small smile take his features. He could imagine Luke scrambling for the communicator, frantically looking for it as Ben made the call. "I believe I found someone with great potential." he said and sat down, the ancient looking holocamera blinking in a tired looking yellow light. "The great potienal to be a Jedi," he needed to wrap this up he didn't intend for Luke to be able to reply. "I will drop her off-" he started again just as Rey burst into the cockpit almost completly frazzled and nearing panic. 

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME YOU WERE HIM?!" she demanded in a rush, he stalled, and just then Luke answered, blinking blearily before settling in a sort of wakefulness. He looked messy, and just barely out of bed, with a much longer and grayer hairs over his head and beard. "WHY didn't you tell me Ben?!" she demanded, looking to Luke for a moment, then her eyes went wide as she must have recognized him. The color drained from her face, and he squashed down the large amount of panic trying to flood into his system. Luke took control of the situation with more grace and quickness then Ben could ever muster in his life. 

"Hello, I am Luke, Ben was just contacting me about you. What do I call you?" Luke asked Rey, making Ben grateful that all his attention was on Rey. She shivered, but Luke's tone was comforting as Rey cast her eyes down to the floor. 

"Rey...." she mumbled quietly. Lue frowned cocking his head a little. 

"I did not quite catch that." Luke said and Rey flinched. 

"REY SIR." she said tightly. Luke nodded, and rose a glove covered hand to his face. 

"So Rey, what were you saying?" She flinched again and mumbled something. "Please speak up Rey. The connection isn't very loud." 

"Its... its not..." she tried still looking down, she breifly looked up to Ben and then to Luke before staring back down. 

"It will be fine I promise." Luke soothed. She took a breath in, and looked up to Ben fixing him with a look. 

"Why didn't you tell me you were the man who saved the Jedi?" she asked him. Ben had the keen feeling to run. Never to look back and just run. Luke grinned, almost in a gleeful manner. "I-I would have GIVEN the ship to you! Now you're stuck! You should have told me!" Rey rambled. She looked to Luke, and then shifted away from the door, giving him an escape route. He had felt cornered, between her and Luke pinned down, but now he watched her hand move. She was motioning him out. He relaxed, no longer fleeing the utter feeling to flee. Just the option to run was enough to calm him down. 

"Rey... I don't think you know what you mean." Ben told her. She narrowed her eyes at him, and he felt a mounting sort of anger from her. 

"THEY... well...  _EVERYONE_ talks about you! They all tell stories about you!" Rey accused him. Luke was nearly shaking in laughter. "Everyone likes you! They call YOU a hero!" she went on and then faded down. "Umm....yeah..." she rubbed her hands nervously over her stomach. "I asked Tekka... how he knew you." she explained voice going quiet. Ben should be ashamed of himself, he should be. But all he could feel at the moment was a sense of... pride. His cheeks felt hot, and he tried to desperately shove the pride away. It came back, again, and again, and again as he tried to bury it. Pride was bad, pride he shouldn't have. He was weak and pathetic, and everything happening was all his fault. Everything that had happened was his fault, so why did she made him feel proud? 

Luke started to laugh, the bastard LAUGHED, shaking and actually falling down onto a bench, or a bed. The two just stared at him as his mirth faded. "Ah, that is wonderful, Ben told me you need a teacher." Luke said fading into a chuckle. "That you have great potential Rey." Luke went at least a little more serious. "I think its more then about time for Ben to find a student himself." Luke turned to Ben. He felt numb with shock. "I leave her training to you Ben. Thank you for calling... everyone will be glad you are safe and well." Luke vanished, leaving Ben frozen and still in the now more empty cockpit. Ben tried to again shove the pride down again. Now fully awake it just wouldn't GO AWAY. Him a teacher? That was basically just telling him that he was more then just a true jedi. He was a jedi master who was ready to train a new generation of Jedi. It was tantamount to being crowned as a king in his mind. 

"I just... talked to Luke....and..." Rey said putting her hands to her face mortification filling her. He had to control this, he had to stop that blasted pride. 

"Firstly I am no hero." Ben snapped more forcefully then he wanted. She looked up to him now dropping her hands. He couldn't allow her to think of him as anything other then a bastard. "Secondly all of that... all of those people are DEAD because of me." the want for destruction came into him, and he grimaced putting it out of his head. That wasn't him, Rey straightened staring at him. 

"What do you mean?" she asked. He shook his head, preventing his hands from shaking by running them through his hair. 

"I can only imagine what you've heard." he said scorn coloring his voice. "SIT." he pointed, Rey settled blindly into the engineer seat in the cockpit. "What did you... hear about me?" he asked. In order to dissuade this hero altar she was trying to shove him up on he had to know exactly what she had heard. Cut it down, and then get her to Luke. He was not going to be a teacher, he can't be not matter what his blasted pride had to say about it. 

"They, the stories said the leader of the First Order tried to wipe out the Jedi. Luke... and a young man a true Jedi under his care," Ben swallowed, heat coming back to his cheeks. "They fought vainly against overwhelming odds, and won. But not without great cost. The Jedi... lost your... lost his arm... and Luke was gravely wounded and taken to a scared planet to heal. Some stories said he was killed...." 

"Nearly... nearly killed." Ben told her, and turned one of the pilot seats to face her. He settled down and fisted his hands on his legs. "He lost a leg, below the knee, and was blinded. Though that didn't...." Ben stopped almost smiling. "The only reason..." he changed quickly. "The First Order attacked was because of me." He hissed out a breath. "Snoke he... the creature wants ME. He was manipulating me... for as long as I could recall. Luke... I was able to talk to and he helped me. He understood, and saved my life. But that didn't stop the First Order from attacking." Ben shoved he memories away. He had to get this out, he felt a shudder go through his back. Rey reached out, and put her hand onto his knee. Swallowing, Ben straightened. "He sent a great number of troopers, they were easily taken down, but that was only to tire us, that is when he sent in the Praetorians. Troopers with heavy armor, and more trained for combat then anyone should be. They were RAISED to kill, raised to be this. They didn't stop, and couldn't. Their minds were.... that doesn't matter." Ben brushed the memories back down again. 

"What matters is that its my fault." he said and brushed Rey's hand off his knee. She frowned at him. 

"Why?" his heart stopped. He couldn't feel it due to the question asked of him clenching into him. "Ben why is it your fault?" 

"It, it just IS." he snapped. "I... I can't train you. I shouldn't." 

"Train me?" she blinked. "I... I can be a jedi?" he relaxed with the change of subject. 

"Yes. I will do my best until the Falcon is fixed and I can take you to Luke." he stood and tried not to feel the shock and horror from Rey. Letting her simmer he went out to pace a bit. Trying to focus on somewhere to start. Most memories were painful, too much to bare for long in his head. But the start, the realization of what he was and could do was happy. It was an easy memory to bare and to teach from. He went to the captains room, and grabbed that crystal that could very well have started this. "Here." he dropped it into her lap, making her jump and grab it with a bit of a wince. The crystal spent a long moment of 'singing' until it faded into the background, now becoming almost synced to Rey. "That is yours, it called to you. We'll have to look to make you a lightsaber with it." 

"I... what is it?" her eyes were wide as she looked up to him. 

"Its a khyber crystal, it was found... in... the empires stores. Luke said it belonged to a jedi known as Qui Gon inn." he explained quickly. "it is of the few that survived the purge of Jedi artifacts and knowledge. "Keep it with you at all times, it will fully sync to your power eventually. It may take a long time for it to do so..." he dropped off. 'like mine' he thought with a stab of painful memory. 

"Do you have a saber?" she asked him. He swallowed down a thick feeling in his throat. It was safely tucked away, he couldn't bare to touch it even now. Just brushing his consciousness against it left him nearly shuddering with the memories. 

"Yes, I will let you use it until we can get yours made." he told her, and shuffled away from her hunching himself. "I'll take you to Luke, he's better then I am." 

"Does... does it have to be him?" she asked quietly and then blanched. Ben slowly turned back to her. "My-m-mm-my family! Can, can I find my family?!" she asked quickly stuttering and standing. She was in front of him quickly, nearly touching him, he could feel her warm breath tickling his chest and neck. 

"Rey... they..." he tried but she gave him a desperate smile. He could see them, her memories were vague. Blurred into nothing but two vague shadows, but he could see their faces. There was a rotting sort of smell, a fetid stink of long open bottles of absolute swill of alcoholic drinks. Their voices rung in her head clearly, promising with what he knew was slurred, but Rey never heard their words otherwise. To her that was normal, to her that was how they sounded. 'well be back sweetie' her mother slurred out. 'I promise!' her father joined in. A sharp feeling of abandonment and other emotions, those tightly packed behind a wall of a desperate hope. He needed to tell her the truth, but Rey took his hands in hers squeezing them gently. 

"Can you find them?" she asked him.

"Y... yes I can." he managed out. Relief flooded into her, a few tears ran down her cheeks. "Rey what if they... they are...." he tried. 

"No! They swore, they PROMISED they'd come back. I'm tired of waiting for them, I want to find them! They have to be alive! Else......" she shook her head and finally dropped his hands. He rose his prosthetic hand, he didn't know exactly why, and gently touched her cheek. It was warm, he could feel the warmth of her skin through the signals through the metal and wires. What he felt for his family seemed to be paled in comparison to her, but he could understand it, could at least empathize with her. 

"Rey, I'll help you." he whispered to her getting her soft smile. 

"Does it HAVE to be Luke?" she ased him. "I don't... want to embar..embarrass myself." he tried to smile back at her. 

"Not... really, I can try my best, that much I can say and promise." She nodded, and took a step away from him. He dropped his hand and tried to force the smile to stay, from her look it was more then just awkward looking. 

"Okay, where do we start?" he gave a sigh of relief, this he could do. This he could focus on along with getting the Falcon to as 100% as he could manage. 

* * *

 

Hux was invested. Utterly invested with every fiber of muscle and nerves. His whole being in fact. Even to what some fools deemed to be a soul. But with all things of this manner it needed to wait, to simmer and wait. His status would be reinstated, and he'd no longer be of the general rabble of white armored troopers, yet not. He wasn't just one of them, he was, yet not. He followed his commander, he did his duties yet was utterly exempt from all military orders. Only doing the onerus and below him tasks of cleaning and maintaining the massive flag ship of the First Order. He was allowed only a few things from his previous work, one of those was his network of carefully cultivated spies. As they as their profession made, were a easily spooked bunch and once contact was made with a specific person they preferred would not sway from them. His network had hopefully passed on information he needed, not wanted. 

The man that Snoke was obsessed with was found and Hux seethed. This jedi was no where near worth this trouble. Not worth the man hours, credits, and time spent all trying to find him and bring him to Snoke ALIVE. Not dead, not killing him, but bringing him alive to the Supreme Leader. It was riduclous and not even the allure of the same kind of strength that Snoke had that was in the man was allure enough for him. Vader and the Emperor, Snoke, were fools. This power seemed only to make one decay, to be utter fools with their underlings. He would be better then that, but he couldn't dwell on that, Snoke would know. It went down into his mind carefully filed and protected. Snoke was careful for those that were often under him to be trained on how to protect their minds. If only so that the mental weight of the creature he was didn't crush them like his guards. Barely sentient, almost droid like humanoids. 

Hux had to play this sort of information carefully. The leads went to Jakku, an important place in what as left of Empire history, and a complete utter nowhere Junkard. He seethed, no one, not even this man was worth it. Just like how it had become apparent killing his father with the help of his personal guard wasn't worth it either. Not even the First Order cared for murder for power, so long as one was not caught. His conspirator revealed the crime, shooting up the ranks and becoming where his placement should be. Taking the former designation that was now him. FN-2187 with her. While he was thrown into the general rabble as an attempt to re-educate him. His father was in no place to be where he had been, he was rightful in-Hux dropped off with a growl of distaste. Seething again in the righteousness of what he did. He could seethe, that was more then allowed. 

While he did so, he sent word to Snoke, in order so that what little information was readily given out, otherwise he'd risk being in much worse state. It ALWAYS needed to be passed along. His heart gave an uncomfortable rush before he calmed himself, he did so. There was little need to worry. The wait didn't take long, it never took long for the man Snoke wanted. IT left him seething more, in more control of himself after a long moment he frowned in distaste. HE, HE would be sent to confirm it. Going through the people, and getting to that junkyard through a criminal gang that had loose ties the First Order to throw off all suspicion. More precautions would need to be taken, taking more then two weeks. 

He knew, knew it utterly that this was going to end poorly. If the Solo boy was gone by the time he got there he'd never get back here. He would never find himself where he should be. He'd be left on a world where none cared for him, and his status. It left him barely being able to due his duties with that knowledge. Snoke had been waiting for an opportunity to dump him. To abandon HIM for this fool. For this idiotic notion of a young man that held idiotic power. He could only hope the Solo boy wouldn't be so keen on leaving the planet, or he'd catch them close on the way. In the meantime he could work, and plan to what he'd have once he had control. He was right, they were wrong and more wrong in just LEAVING him. He'd be the glorious leader to reign the galaxy, if he could just get past this. ONCE he got past this, he tried to vow, but he, as always needed to be careful with his vows. He wasn't about to break them and suffer more under this imposed impeachment. 


	3. A little bit of this

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The falcon is Fixed, and the two speed off into the stars only to be met with a Guavian Death gang.

Rey had a hard time concentrating, of settling down into meditation. She spent her whole life nearly working to exhausting just SITTING down and basically doing nothing but trying to create calm in her mind was just, not something she could do. It looked as though Ben also had trouble with it, he would bounce his leg up and down even when it appeared he was trying to show that he was mediating. She knew in some way his thoughts were not like he said to have them, ordered, and just... at peace? Maybe it was this thing inside of her just now awake and now more open but she knew the guy wasn't at peace at all. He was a mess, inside and out as well. He had a temper, and whenever someone cheated him for a part he was probably one step away from beating the cheater. Rey never stopped him and that was why he never actually did so, to Rey beating someone that hurt you or cheated was natural as breathing. 

One last little bit of welding, and she put down the last grate, Finally the Falcon was repaired. It had been a month, and she shifted a bit. Ben was hiding something, she felt it too, and it scared her. Most of the 'teaching' was just, that meditation. He told her that she needed to get used to 'feeling' the force around her. Rey wanted something fun, like lifting a mountain, or a star destroyer like Vader did. The lightsaber, she pocketed it, and settled outside where Ben was going over the outside repairs. Several panels were missing and while it didn't really effect the overall ship and going into planets surfaces it made it look like it needed to have a serious repair. Now most of the empty patches where the aesthetic panels were on, were patched up with sand blasted bits of destroyers. From the weathered portions, to the dull grey of paintless metal it looked like it needed a good paint job. Rey saw no real reason to put these panels on, but, Ben? She shook herself as he looked down at her briefly. 

She had set up more of a home in the Falcon then her Walker, then the home she had then in Unkar's shop. She frowned up at Ben, before walking to a small sort of area. Here was a small training area, with a tiny sort of drone that would zap her if she messed up on these forms. Just yesterday she had FINALLY gotten him to at least start on this far more exciting training. She could feel him swallow down nerves, as she activated it, and then made sure the saber was on the lowest setting. It would be good to cut off her hand, or leg, or cut up the drone when it zapped her. It shifted, and with a quick motion she closed her eyes and kept them closed. The first few zaps hit her, she flinched, trying to 'feel' as Ben stated where the shots would happen. There was no real pattern to the zaps, it was as random as it could be. She flicked one, feeling it strike the blade traveling down the length of energy blade to her hand. It was thrilling, she hit another one, she could see it traveling in her minds eye towards her right knee. 

The next, her elbow, the other her chest, all were quickly blocked, until she heard Ben plop down onto the hard packed earth, distracting her, and the last three hit her. With a light tap, she hit the drone and it deactivated. Rey sighed, and looked back to him, shutting down the saber. It was relatively simple to construct. All things considered, it was like making a tiny shield generator in a way. There was a battery, a very good one, a few focusing crystals... wires, the shielding outer metal. This one blade had to have its button pressed down constantly in order to keep it on, she could easily modify it so that it remained on with just a simple thumb latch. But that would wait, Ben didn't like even looking at the thing, let only a discussion on the inner mechanics of making one. 

"Yes? Is there something you want?" she asked him. Ben shifted, as she looked at him. 

"I'm done with... the outside panels. Is the inside fully repaired?" he asked her voice carefully monotone. 

"Yes, of course it is." she told him. Rey was antsy, she wanted to get off world. Maybe her parents just forgot about where they had left her... she shifted and handed the saber towards him. The flinched, and backed away from it. She clipped it to her belt, and looked at the now patched work Falcon. She wondered what it looked like when it was just built, and wondered if it would ever look that way again. Unlikely, but still. "I just took out that compressor on the fuel line, it took a while, I'd rather by pass it, but since we had the time I was able to remove it, and then bridge the hole on it. It wont need to be primed for a jump now." Ben nodded and shifted again. "Anything else?" she asked. 

"No. I... how much food do you think we will need?" he asked her. Rey blinked, that wasn't want he wanted to say she could feel it just as keenly as when someone wanted to hurt them. The last week, Rey had been pushing them to get the ship done, to just finish up and get off the planet. She could feel something coming, and it wasn't exactly the best feeling. Like a razor wire being dragged slowly around her and they had little time to escape and get off the planet. 

"Since the portions here are all good unless the covering is damaged we could fit..." Rey calculated in her head. "Two years worth of food for one, and one for two." he nodded. 

"That's all storage, how about six months?" he questioned. 

"Fine." she waited, but he moved away towards where she had all the food for people stored. Rey wanted to press, and to yell at him to what exactly he wanted to say. It was important and she knew it was in the way she knew the air she breathed. She also knew that trying to force it, force him to tell her, would make him shut it down and probably make him loose his temper, again. The guy was a mass of barely contained rage, and would do very well with some more violent gang. Maybe an enforcer of a type, the one to go out and beat people, get that anger out. She shook herself, watching him, he liked to keep himself covered, which was good for Jakku. Rey slowly walked towards him as he frowned over the meal packs, made entirely from engineered plant proteins, they were all remains of the empire. "Where do you plan on jumping to?" she asked him, and began tallying the expense. She was still in the green, luck it seemed to be with her. Rumors were, that the First Order was creeping in the area and a lot more people were spending more time getting meal packs, even buying them to keep stock. Tekka waved from the booth and she waved back blindly. 

"Takodona. I know a... person there. She knows everything and knows... a lot of people." Rey blinked towards him. 

"Do you think my parents went to her?" Ben flinched, and she could feel something like a door slamming in her face from him. Han told her they left, that they were out there among the stars. She... Rey swallowed and quickly sent out an order for more, these were cheep. No one wanted them and now with more movements for the First Order they were far far more eager to rid the world of them. The next shipment of them would come in, and they'd be gone before it arrived Leaving Tekka to take care of the market, something he assured he was safe in, Rey had called on two guards, one a fixed KX series droid, though it was much harder to get it to understand it needed to guard Tekka. The other a large prosthetic armed alien, who was also the one who reprogrammed the KX droid. Rey didn't want to come back to Jakku with her new found friends dead. 

"Tekka, you'll be sure to..." Rey stalled as she looked to Ben. She only barely caught Tekka's frown towards her. "If they come back you'll route them to this number." she handed the old man the communicator number for the Falcon. Tekka didn't let her hand go holding onto it. 

"Rey, we need to talk." A lurch of dread crawled into her belly, as he pulled her into the more private space of the booth. Thankfully the heat baked off the rotting smell that Unkar had left in just a few hours, now it smelled clean with only the stench of sweat of the two humans. He guided her to sit down, she knew in some way what was going to happen. "I spoke with a few people here, and..." he took her hands in his. 

* * *

 

Ben would much rather dive into the belly of a rathtar then face the person before him. She wasn't angry, well the anger wasn't at him, he could at least play dumb. "WHY, why would your father LIE to me?" she demanded and paced around the Falcon. Ben flinched, and looked to the ground. "Just to do what? WHY?" 

"I... I knew." Ben decided, Rey turned to him and he took a calming breath. Her emotions were a mix of anger, and a deep wound of sadness. He could sense she knew, how can someone with the force not know, but having it plain out, was like a blow to the stomach. She looked ready to kill him, but there was nothing there to indicate that she was. "My father wanted you to be my copilot. I think he actually likes you, that's why... he lied." Ben explained. "He lies... like that to the people he loves. Usually he just plays dumb, ignores it, or just outright admits." Rey stared at him, waiting. "He lies more then anyone I know." he finished. 

"When were you going to tell me?" she asked him, Ben froze still taking a long breath in. He was pinned, and his heart thrummed uncomfortably in his chest. "Ben?" 

"I.... didn't know how." he dived, wishing he was anywhere else. But Rey relaxed, and shifted rubbing her arms. "Sorry, I, really didn't know how to tell you." She swallowed and sighed. He finally looked at her, and blessed Tekka with every god, goddess, creator, the Force that he knew. The old man could break the destruction of Alderaan to someone and have them still come out fine. She seemed at a loss as to what to do. "Rey you can still be-I can still train you." She frowned, and put her painfully few things into one of the bunks, the secondary bunk which had one more bed. The ship one had three beds, the captains, still had wookie fur under the mattress, then the crew. Spare beds could be taken on the floor with benches that could be folded out to accommodate most human sized species. He got the sense she didn't like the more expansive room, preferring the metal cocooning her on three sides. 

"Thank you. For at least... considering telling me." Rey stated after a short time she didn't look to him, and settled a small potted flower onto a personal shelf. All the panels inside of the Falcon were no longer exposed, those were an easier fix then the cosmetic changes outside. Much of interior spaces of ships were all the same, and parts of any can usually be used to put on any ship as they were designed to be so flexible allowing any creature humanoid and non fully humanoid to experience natural pressures that were their home worlds. "Tekka... he told me something...." Ben felt his heart race. "That Jedi could see into the past, does, can you see my parents?" He shifted as she stared at him, hopeful eyes boring into his soul. 

"That isn't something I can do. I'm sorry." he said, and she sighed frowning looking away from him. "But," she looked back to him. "It could be something you can try. Like I said, you can still be trained. The records that are left are varied, jedi were good at all sorts of powers, some more so then others. Maybe this is something you are good at. We can try, that much I can promise." She thought a moment, then smiled nodding. 

"Does that mean we have to visit Luke?" she asked softly. Ben grimaced. 

"Yes. Luke is fairly okay at it. He's good at almost everything." Ben rubbed a hand over the back of his head. Luke was good at everything, and even better at helping people to realize their potential in a skill. It was like he was a pure teacher, someone who knew the basics, then fostered everyone to be able to flourish in their own skills. Ben, he was only good at hurting things, creating pain and suffering... she was putting a hand on his arm, the metal sending signals of the touch into his head. 

"If you don't want to go, we don't have to." she told him and he stared down at her. "Maybe we can look for some of these records?" 

"Texts... they are texts." he said quickly. He felt his heart beat in his neck. 

"Texts then." she smiled up at him and he backed away quickly. 

"Yes, we can do that." he answered carefully. "I'll go... get the ship started." he fled, that was the only way to describe it. Everything was primed and ready before he liked it, and Rey was slipping into the seat by him. He cast a careful glance to her, making sure his shields were tightened down again. She frowned, closing her eyes. "Maz, she does have a lot of old records it is how most of what Luke... found has been used. She may still have a lot she was hesitant to give to him, or know some places that could still have these things." He told her. "Maz is weird, she's over a thousand years old." Rey blinked and looked to him. "Trust me, Maz will help you, maker knows I can't." 

"Ben, you've already helped me a lot." she told him. He felt himself unable to swallow down. "To tell you the truth..." his hand was hovering over the controls. "I knew the whole time, I knew it. But I was so scared to find out... because that means I had nothing to look forward to... I'd have nothing." She reached out and touched his hand on the controls, the one made of metal, his right hand. "But now I do, thank you Ben." He nodded, completely at a loss of anything to say or do. 

"I'll do whatever I can do to help you see them." he told her and she smiled. "Are you ready?" he asked her. 

"Of course!" she faltered a bit, then shook her head, looking up at the blasted red and orange sky of Jakku. _"I never want to come back here again."_ she didn't speak it, but here thoughts jabbed into his mind like a knife. "We'll come back, I have to make sure Tekka is alright... and my business is thriving." Ben frowned, but guided the ship up into the sky, fairly quickly. The space around Jakku was as always nearly empty, no need for waiting for jumping into hyperspace. 

"Are you su-" Ben began Rey flicked the few switches, readying for a jump. "Looks like we'll have to stop just about halfway to wait out." Ben said, and set course, with a bit of a lurch, the ship took off, settling for the time in the star streaked sky of hyperspace. 

* * *

 

After spending perhaps two months, Hux didn't care for the time spent with these criminals, he was on the utter knowledge that the First Order had abandoned him. Thankfully, he had made himself more then just a little indispensable. Nothing to much, but being able to haggle was a skill, and getting them the prostethics and chemicals the main soldiers used in order to make themselves better for cheaper, one doesn't argue the placement. With his spy contacts as well, he was at least here, far less so then when within the First Order. At least within the Guavian's he wasn't required to clean, there were droids for that. He brushed off the small desk, and smiled. Despite the fact that he believed the First Order did abandon him he could still be back where he felt like he belonged. The ship, obviously in the space just above a junkyard had a tracker on it, several in fact, there was a reason for black market dealings after all, and was now heading on the course for the blasted neutral space of Takadona. 

Getting not only the Millennium Falcon, but the promise that perhaps Han Solo, one who had a substantial debt to Guavian's, was enough for these men to move. Their main ship was around the size of a smaller Star Destroyer, and very much faster then the black ships. Who needs speed when you are armed to the teeth, not to even mention the Tie Fighters. Hux stood as the ship came out of Hyperspace in a empty field where several ships waited for their turn to jump. It didn't take much to tether the Falcon, and he smiled. Wondering just what panic Han Solo must be going through. The old ship had no actual tech to avoid such a matter unlike the newer silencers that were being processed and made by the First Order. He waited as Bala-Tik readied the other soldiers, the men had a glassy eye'd twitchy nature. Just waiting to be able to do damage, kill, destroy things. His storm troopers were superior. They did not require drugs to fuel anything, he was not required to follow them, but did so as the ship was safely stowed into the less expansive hanger. 

They waited a moment armed to the teeth and behind the blast door for safety. "What is this about?" called a Female voice over the coms. She hushed something, then spoke quickly in an alien tongue. Bala-tik looked to him and frowned, holding up the com to his face. 

"Just who are you? Why are you aboard the Millennium Falcon?" he asked back tone carefully neutreal. Hux grimaced as the woman spoke again in the alien language. He then grimaced and gestured to the soldiers, they dropped their weapons, and the blast door opened. "This woman claims to be a affiliate with Kanjiklub." Bala-tik explained. "You will not try to harm her. If she is, then we are in no place to start a war." The ramp to the Falcon dropped and said woman walked down calmly. She was holding a small white banner with a brown symbol on it. Which had a overall diamond sort of shape, her eyes flicked over them. Bala-tik further waved down the soldiers who started to remove their helmets. 

"That good enough for you to tell me what this is about?" she demanded towards him. Hux straightened, eyes flicking over the Falcon. It was in what he could see more repair then any record he had seen in the First Order. 

"Is there anyone else on board?" Hux demanded, Bala-tik glared to him and she looked back. 

"My co-pilot." she answered simply. "Lor San Tekka." Hux knew that name, it wasn't important, as he looked over the girl. The tension was going up a little, there was a little shift in her, and he knew that was a lie. 

"May I?" Hux asked, Bala-tik looked to him then nodded. Hux stepped out towards the young girl. Brown hair, brown eyes, a ready look to herself. "Who are you?" he asked. 

"Rey." she answered a little too quickly. He nodded and paced in front of her, she followed him with her eyes, he couldn't see anyone on the ship. Behind her. "May we leave in peace? Or must this escalate?" she asked and looked to Bala-tik, speaking again that alien tongue. He replied back, and then she turned back to him, Hux's eye twitched he was not fluent in the tongue and was sure it was about him. "Officous-" the comment was cut off as the ship lurched. They all looked around, as something screamed into the coms. Everyone but him and the girl reacted, quickly fleeing the hanger to go to positions. The girl raced off the ramp pass him to a panel and tapped at it, as a man walked out, and Hux was immediately struck at how luck had turned. 

He ran to the same panel as the man looked around, the same man he was required to find. He looked down as she brought up feed of the outside of the hull. The ship now latched like a parasite to the hull of this ship was a lesser known gang. The Knights of Ren. Their ship, a full on Empire ship, re-branded with blood red panels instead of black. They only attacked other gangs, and it was join or die, pure utter fanatics, the Empire had tried to recruit them, only to be met with failure. Rey jerked to head to the man slowly approaching. "Kriff." she said and Hux frowned. 

"What is that?" He asked, and blinked down at the panel, and grimaced. There was the distant sounds of a battle taking place as the Guavian's were boarded by the fanatics. 

"We have to help them." Rey said, and then turned to him. "You, what is going on?" He froze and glanced to the man. "Who as these people? Why are they attacking?" He flinched, and opened his mouth to speak. 

"We need to leave now." The man, Ben Solo, Hux reminded himself of his name, the one Snoke wanted for whatever reason the Supreme Leader had that he would not share. Rey tapped on the screen, and without a look back, darted into the ship leaving the two men to glance at each other. He followed her, and Hux was left alone for the moment. He could escape, he could leave and never look back. He pulled out his blaster and quickly followed the two. 


End file.
